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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1497861
This article is part of the Research Topic Drug Discovery Derived from Herbal Medicine/Polypeptide for Neurological Diseases View all 14 articles

Natural bioactive compounds form Herbal Medicine in Alzheimer's disease: From the perspective of GSK-3β

Provisionally accepted
Mei Wang Mei Wang 1Wendi Huang Wendi Huang 1Juan Huang Juan Huang 2Yong Luo Yong Luo 1Nanqu Huang Nanqu Huang 1*
  • 1 Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People’s Hospital of Zunyi), China, China
  • 2 Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline and memory loss. Glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) plays a pivotal role in AD pathogenesis, particularly in tau protein hyperphosphorylation. Natural bioactive compounds have a wide range of sources, and medicinally valuable active compound can be extracted from plants, animals, and microorganisms. Currently, studies have found that various natural bioactive compounds from plants have the potential to improve AD symptoms, such as resveratrol and berberine. Therefore, this review examines the potential of natural bioactive compounds to modulate GSK-3β activity and inhibit the hyperphosphorylation of tau, offering a promising therapeutic strategy for AD. We summarize the current understanding of alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, terpenoids and other natural compounds, highlighting their mechanisms of action and preclinical efficacy.

    Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, GSK-3β, tau protein, tau hyperphosphorylation, Natural bioactive compounds

    Received: 18 Sep 2024; Accepted: 20 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Huang, Huang, Luo and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Nanqu Huang, Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People’s Hospital of Zunyi), China, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.